20 from Assam Test Positive for COVID-19; Northeast Cases Rise to 24

Guwahati, April 2, 2020:

In less than 48 hours, the number of positive cases of the coronavirus or COVID-19 has risen from '0' to '20'. Apart from 16 cases which have been detected within the state, 4 more are said to be treated for the disease in New Delhi.

ALSO READ: Assam: COVID-19 Positive Cases Will Soon Reach Double Digit, Says Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma

At the same time, Northeast India -- long untouched by the virus that was first reported in Wuhan, China, in December last, has also started throwing up more cases of the virus. At the same time, the virus continues to wreak havoc on both the health system and the economy, with hand-to-mouth daily wage labourers being the worst-hit.

Note: 938,452 cases of the coronavirus have been reported across the world, with 47,290 deaths reported so far. In India, the virus has affected 2,032 people, and 58 deaths have been reported so far.

Here's a timeline of how the disease has spread in the Northeast:

March 24:

The first case, that of a 23-year-old girl from Manipur, was confirmed. Manipur had reported its first case of the virus on March 24. According to the Test Report of the 23-year-old, she developed the first sign of the illness two days ago and on March 24 morning, she was declared as 2019-nCoV ‘Positive’. Her test was carried out at The Jawaharlal Nehru Institute of Medical Sciences (JNIMS), Imphal.

ALSO READ: Breaking: Arunachal Pradesh Records first Positive Case of COVID-19 in Tezu

March 25:

The second case was reported from Mizoram, it was a 50-year-old pastor. After the first corona POSITIVE case that was reported from Manipur yesterday, the State of Mizoram has recorded Northeast India’s second positive case of the virus, who, according to our sources, is a 50-year-old male.

March 31:

On March 31, the first case was reported in Assam. The 52-year-old had returned to Assam from New Delhi on March 10, and started exhibiting symptoms on March 29. He was tested as positive at the Silchar Medical College.

April 1:

Several cases were reported from Assam on a single day. After an earlier announcement had been made by Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma in which he had stated that 4 more cases of the virus had been detected in the State, he later announced that 8 were tested positive in Golaghat.

April 2:

Assam confirmed 3 more cases of the COVID-19, all cases were reported from Goalpara. This took the number of cases to 20. Abdul Talukdar, a resident of Tezu in Lohit district of Arunachal Pradesh has tested positive for the contagion coronavirus or COVID-19. Inside Northeast sources have confirmed that he attended the Tablighi Jamaat meet on March 16 and has been in quarantine since March 24.

In Manipur, a man who had recently attended the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in New Delhi’s Nizamuddin has also tested positive for the contagion. This announcement was made by the Chief Minister N. Biren Singh at 12:56 am when he took to Twitter to post about the development.

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